I want to publish an application with two apk versions:
for devices with Project Tango support;
for rest devices.
But when I try to publish them as is, I get Fully shadowed APK error on tango version (This APK will not be served to any users because it is completely shadowed by one or more APKs with higher version codes).
Is it possible to publish application as I want?
Assign the higher versionCode to the Tango build.
Related
The app has used the embedded wear APK distribution model, but since this distribution method is no longer supported since January, the app has been migrated to use a separate Wear APK.
Followed the guides to set the wearAppUnbundled true flag in the mobile APK and set the <uses-feature android:name="android.hardware.type.watch"/> along with <meta-data android:name="com.google.android.wearable.standalone" android:value="false" /> in the Wear APK.
The only question is what app version code to use when uploading the Google Play?
Let's say version 100 is the legacy version with the embedded wear APK. (minsdk 19)
Version 300 is the new mobile APK without the wear APK, this has been uploaded to the Play Store. (minsdk19)
Now, what version code to use for the Wear APK? (minsdk 25)
If it's set to version code 200 then when preparing the release the Play Console accepts it. However, it says that 300 will not be included in this release. And this is what is scary as one might think that the mobile APK will not be visible on the Play Store if it's released as is based on this message.
Should the "Include" option next to the 300 version APK in the "Not Included" section be used to force the Play Console to keep that one active?
Based on the Multi-APK versioning guide:
This scenario might be "shrinking" since the Wear APK is more restricted (due to the min SDK level and the uses-feature declaration).
However, since the Wear APK uses a lower version code, the capable devices should still receive 300 by default? This is what is confusing, as based on this I'd assume that the 300 version should not be affected at all by uploading a more restricted lower code APK.
The most important thing is to have the new mobile APK as is, and it shouldn't disappear from the Play Store.
As it turns out, it's easy to solve this. In this case, the Wear OS APK had to be uploaded with a higher version code, version code 400, for instance. On the release page, the Include button had to be used to include the 300 version (phone APK).
It kind of make sense, but if one is new to Multi-APK release the messaging is not straightforward and if the app has many installs one thinks twice before taking such actions.
(Probably should have uploaded both APKs in the first place when released the new phone APK)
My app currently has a minSdkVersion of 15 (ICS 4.0.3).
Due to additional dependencies, I have to go up with the min SDK to 19 (Kitkat 4.4).
I already build multiple APKs for min15 and min19 productFlavors.
I'd like to provide bugfixes for my existing users of min15, but don't want new users to install min15.
How can I accomplish this?
Is it possible to unpublish the min15 for new installs, but still provide updates for existing users?
At the moment this is not possible. You can't unpublish single APKs, just the whole app.
You should publish multiple apks for your app. one with minSDK 15 and another one with minSDK 19. Play-store allows this
Multiple APK support is a feature on Google Play that allows you to
publish different APKs for your application that are each targeted to
different device configurations. Each APK is a complete and
independent version of your application, but they share the same
application listing on Google Play and must share the same package
name and be signed with the same release key. This feature is useful
for cases in which your application cannot reach all desired devices
with a single APK.
Check docs here
Can I have both production and beta versions of my application available to the selected users?
The use case is the following, there are some users that are willing to try new versions of my app, but the are already using stable version for work. Beta version may have bug/crashes, making it inadvisable for work use. Therefore it would be nice to have both versions installed.
If beta APK is published separately (e.g. on my website), the user has anyway to remove the stable APK.
If beta APK has different package name, I have to fork the repository, and then manage merge, which I what to avoid.
Is there a standard way to do that on Play Store?
Can user select which version to install from Play Store?
Is there some tool that may simplify the package renaming?
Is it possible Publish 2 apk for different android version?
I using cordova to build to apps and I need to use crosswalk to build when android version below v4.4.
Higher than v4.4 android just use normal build.
Yes, you can publish multiple APKs to the Play Store.
Each APK must be signed with the same key and must use a different version code. The version that supports a higher minimum SDK version must have the higher version code.
By have two different APKs with differed minSdkVersions defined, users will receive whichever version has the highest support API level.
For full documentation regarding this feature, read the Multiple APK Support documentation.
I have uploaded two APK files into the Google Play store. One is a newer version and one is an older version. The newer version is the active one since it has a higher versionName and Code. Now I found some bugs in the newer version and I want to delete it from the Play Store and activate the older version. Google Play won't let me deactivate the newer one and activate the older one again, since it has a lower versionName and code.
The problem is that I'm am not the developer and did not build the app. The developer is in another country and it is difficult to get hold of them.
What can I do to reactivate the older version again? I know one solution would be to change the versionName and Code. I only have the apk file, can I change those details in Eclipse with only the apk file and very little experience in eclipse or developing android apps?
Thank You
You can't rebuild a new version of an apk from the apk itself.
Have the app developer do the following:
Rebuild project in its previous state with higher version number (must be higher than all previously submitted versions)
Resubmit
From Google's Android "Developer Console" page:
Note that rollbacks aren’t supported due to the app versioning
requirements of the Android platform. If you need to rollback,
consider launching a previous APK with a new version number. However,
this practice should be used only as a last resort, as users will lose
access to new features and your old app may not be forward-compatible
with your server changes or data formats, so be sure to run alpha and
beta tests of your updates.
A good strategy is, when creating a build, modify the manifest to build say a version 2.0 = 39 AND again 2.05 = 45 and generate these two apks which will obviously do the same thing.
Later, when build 2.01 = 40 is in production and you find an error, you can jump back to the old version by uploading the 2.05 = 45 you created earlier.
You have 5 opportunities to back track while releasing 40, 41, 42, 43 and 44 to go back to earlier functionality!
Do this for each build and you can always go back to an earlier version which has been pre compiled and built but with a higher version number than currently in production.
You will not be able to change the APK file without having the signing certificate.
You should be able to revert to an older version, assuming you didn't change the level of API support.
Presumably, go to the Dev console, select the APK tab, hit the "Advanced Mode" option, deactivate the current version and hit "Reactivate" for the version you want.